House Judiciary Chair Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) issued a subpoena on Friday to obtain the full, unredacted version of Special Counsel Robert Mueller's report on Russian election interference and the Trump campaign's conduct surrounding the meddling. The House Judiciary Committee approved the subpoena earlier this month, anticipating a desire for an unredacted report and Mueller's underlying documentation. The subpoena has now been fired off, demanding to see Mueller's evidence and summaries of key witness interviews by May 1. If Attorney General William Barr ignores it, the Judiciary Committee could hold him in contempt, setting up a potentially lengthy court battle. Nadler said the report was troubling and "it now falls to Congress to determine the full scope of that alleged misconduct."

A federal judge in California on Friday temporarily blocked the government from constructing a wall in two sectors along the U.S.-Mexico border using funds diverted from the Defense Department, throwing a wrinkle into President Trump's national emergency declaration. Construction was set to begin on Saturday. The judge, Haywood S. Gilliam, wrote that the Congress's 'absolute' control over federal funding is an 'essential' feature of the United States government and that Trump's emergency declaration would "pose serious problems under the Constitution's separation of powers principles." The order applies specifically to two areas where a total of 51 miles of fencing was set to be added. Gilliam's ruling was in response to a lawsuit brought by the Sierra Club and the Southern Border Communities Coalition.

President Trump on Friday declared a national emergency in response to rising tensions between the United States and Iran, allowing him to complete the sale of over $8 billion worth of weapons to Iran's regional rival, Saudi Arabia, as well as the United Arab Emirates and Jordan, all despite congressional objections. Congress had blocked the sale of offensive weaponry to Saudi Arabia and the UAE for months as a result of those countries' air campaigns in Yemen and other human rights abuses. But Trump used a loophole to circumvent Congress and go ahead with the sale. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the sales were necessary to deter Iran, but the decision to side step Congress was a "one-time event."

President Trump on Friday announced plans to send 1,500 additional troops to the Middle East amid escalating tensions with Iran. "We want to have protection," Trump told reporters on Friday, saying it will be a "relatively small number of troops, mostly protective." He confirmed the 1,500 number that had previously been reported and said that "some very talented people are going to the Middle East right now, and we'll see what happens." The troops' activities will reportedly be "defensive in nature" and will protect U.S. forces in the region. U.S. officials in recent weeks have warned of a "number of troubling and escalatory indications and warnings" from Iran. "Our job is deterrence," Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan said. "This is not about war."

Missouri Gov. Mike Parson (R) on Friday signed into law a bill banning abortion at eight weeks, with exceptions in medical emergencies but not in cases of rape or incest. Under the new law, doctors who perform abortions after eight weeks would face between five and 15 years in prison. The bill includes a "trigger" banning abortion outright if the Supreme Court overturns the Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion. Restrictive anti-abortion laws in Alabama, Georgia, and several other states are expected to face legal challenges that could reach the Supreme Court.

The Supreme Court has blocked lower court rulings that required Ohio and Michigan's electoral maps to be immediately redrawn. Previous court rulings had determined Ohio's map of congressional districts, and Michigan's map of congressional and state legislative districts, needed to be redrawn ahead of the 2020 election due to unconstitutional gerrymandering, in both cases favoring Republicans. But the Supreme Court on Friday put these orders on hold. The justices are currently reviewing two gerrymandering cases, one concerning North Carolina and one concerning Maryland, during which they will decide whether the court has a role in such a matter. Verdicts are expected to be reached in these cases by the end of next month.